Radioactive waste likely leaked into the ocean from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on April 5, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
Radioactive waste likely leaked into the ocean from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on April 5, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The waste fluids were byproducts after purifying water contaminated by radiation at the nuclear plant and appear to have leaked from a hose.
Although the leak was eventually stopped, some of the waste fluids appear to have flowed into a drainage ditch that empties into the Pacific.
TEPCO officials said about 12 tons of waste fluids appear to have leaked.
On March 26, waste fluids also leaked from a hose located close to where the latest leak took place.
The waste that leaked on March 26 contained high levels of radiation. The fluids contained radioactive cesium at levels of 10,000 becquerels per liter and radioactive strontium and other radioactive materials that emit beta-rays of 140 million becquerels.
In the latest leak, the waste likely had similar levels of radiation.
A worker found the waste fluids leaking from the hose at 1:05 a.m. on April 5. The equipment was stopped five minutes later and a valve was closed about 35 minutes after that in an attempt to stop the leaking. However, fluids continued to leak and it was not until 2:20 a.m. that the leak was stanched. The leak was caused by the hose becoming disconnected.
Efforts were made to lay sandbags around the drainage ditch that empties into the Pacific to prevent the waste from reaching the ocean. However, some of the liquid waste flowed into the ditch before the levee could be created.